Page 104 of Before You
“This is my version of hell,” JJ says, grimacing, and I seriously can’t imagine. I would never be able to look JJ’s parents in the eyes again.
“I don’t know how many more times I can apologize for the pool.” Henry groans, and Mirabelle snorts.
“The answer is you can never apologize too many times for the pool.”
“What about a pool?” A tall girl who seems around my age appears on the other side of me, her honey eyes lighting up as they meet mine. “Hey, you guys made it. I’m Kaitlyn.”
I return her smile, noting the similarities between her and Henry. “Marley,” I say, noting a small spatter of what looks like orange paint in her brown hair. I brush it out without thinking twice, catching her by surprise, and my face heats. “Sorry, you had some paint in your hair.”
She laughs, combing her fingers through her hair. “All good. That’s actually pretty normal for me these days. Painting is anew hobby I’m trying out, but I haven’t quite figured out how to keep the paint on the canvas and off me.”
“I think that’s really cool you’re trying new things,” I say, and she shrugs.
“I guess it’s a perk of not knowing what you want to do with your life, but since you guys are here now, I think it means Thalia won the bet,” Kaitlyn says, turning back to Henry. “Why do you need to apologize about a pool?”
Mirabelle goes to open her mouth, but Henry covers it with his hand quickly before she can say anything. “Mirabelle thought she saw a mermaid in the pool. I didn’t tell you about it?” he asks, giving Mira a look as she bats her eyelashes innocently at him.
JJ turns, leaning down to whisper in my ear, “I’m so sorry about them.”
“A mermaid? Why are we—” Kaitlyn tilts her head before her eyes widen. “Ew, gross. Forget I asked, I don’t want to know.”
“Si tu veux vraiment me faire taire, je peux penser à autre chose que je préférerais dans ma bouche, mon cœur,”25 Mirabelle says and JJ scoffs.
“Sérieusement? La moitié de cette salle parle français!”26
The roar of the stadium becomes almost deafening as fireworks go off and the teams take the field, all the attention in the box moving toward the game.
“Oh thank god, I thought the game was never going to start,” JJ says, taking the opportunity to pull me away from everyone else. “Are you okay? I’m sorry about, well, everyone actually.”
“Flustered and slightly mortified, but I’ll survive.” I reach for JJ’s hands, his much larger ones engulfing mine as he exhales, and I search his face for any sign of the mask he so easily slips into. “You okay?” I ask, trying to be careful with my words.
“I’m good, I promise,” he reassures me, leaning down to kiss the corner of my mouth. “Thank you for being here.”
“Of course,” I say, wishing more than anything I could have turned my cheek to kiss him directly. “We better go back and make sure everyone can see us before they suspect we’re doing something else over here.” JJ’s smile meets his green eyes, crinkling at the corners, and I smile right back.
“They can think whatever they want, but I’ve been looking forward to explaining football to you. Might even be a test later,” he whispers, and my heart thumps erratically in my chest at the suggestion. This time, his soft lips graze over mine with the gentlest touch and the promise of more. “I’m eager to show you just how well I’ve been paying attention.”
“Remind me again how long games last?” I ask, my breath catching.
“Long enough to make the wait worth it.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
JJ
“HAVE YOU CHANGED your mind about telling me what happened with your knee?” Mirabelle asks, plopping down on the couch next to me, having no idea she’s only twisting the knife I plunged into my own chest. I thought after everything was fine at the games the last two days, she’d drop this, but I guess not.
“Don’t you have your own house now?” I ask, getting up because I don’t want to talk about this right now. I want her to drop it, but she’s like a bloodhound once catching a scent.
“Sorry for giving a shit about you. I wonder what Mom and Dad would think if they knew there was more to it than you’ve said,” she mumbles under her breath.
“There isn’t. Let it go,” I say through gritted teeth.Why does she have to push?I stand up, fully intending to walk away before we can get into another argument.
Marley left earlier this morning to fly to New York for an investment meeting at their company’s headquarters after asking me a thousand times if I was okay with her going, but I can handle the last thirty-six hours with my family. I think she was also stalling when it came to packing, but I didn’t want her to go either.
She must have given Asher a heads up because he texted a little after Marley left to let me know he was there to talk if I needed him.
“Too damn bad. You’ve been acting differently for months. What the hell is going on with you?” she asks, pulling on my shoulder to get me to turn.
